Plankton abundance and distribution are strongly dependent on factors such as ambient nutrient concentrations, the physical state of the water column, and the abundance of other plankton.

The study of plankton is termed planktology and a planktonic individual is referred to as a plankter.[6]

The adjective planktonic is widely used in both the scientific and popular literature, and is a generally accepted term. However, from the standpoint of formal grammar the less commonly used planktic is more strictly the correct adjective. When deriving English words from their Greek or Latin roots the gender specific ending (in this case "-on," which indicates the word is neuter) is normally dropped, using only the root of the word in the derivation.[7]

This scheme divides the plankton community into broad producer, consumer and recycler groups. However, determining the trophic level of some plankton is not straightforward. For example, although most dinoflagellates are either photosynthetic producers or heterotrophic consumers, many species are mixotrophic depending upon circumstances.

Size groups

Plankton are also often described in terms of size.[8] Usually the following divisions are used:

However, some of these terms may be used with very different boundaries, especially on the larger end. The existence and importance of nano- and even smaller plankton was only discovered during the 1980s, but they are thought to make up the largest proportion of all plankton in number and diversity.

The microplankton and smaller groups are Reynolds numbers, where the viscosity of water is much more important than its mass or inertia. [9]

Distribution

World distribution of plankton

Plankton inhabit oceans, seas, lakes, ponds. Local abundance varies horizontally, vertically and seasonally. The primary cause of this variability is the availability of light. All plankton ecosystems are driven by the input of solar energy (but see chemosynthesis), confining primary production to surface waters, and to geographical regions and seasons having abundant light.

A secondary variable is nutrient availability. Although large areas of the tropical and sub-tropical oceans have abundant light, they experience relatively low primary production because they offer limited nutrients such as nitrate, phosphate and silicate. This results from large-scale ocean circulation and water column stratification. In such regions, primary production usually occurs at greater depth, although at a reduced level (because of reduced light).

Despite significant marine snow, can be especially high following the termination of spring blooms.

Primarily by grazing on phytoplankton, zooplankton provide carbon to the planktic denser than seawater, and as a result it sinks into open ocean ecosystems away from the coastlines, transporting carbon along with it. This process is known as the biological pump, and it is one reason that oceans constitute the largest carbon sink on Earth.

Biomass variability

The growth of phytoplankton populations is dependent on light levels and nutrient availability. The chief factor limiting growth varies from region to region in the world's oceans. On a broad scale, growth of phytoplankton in the oligotrophic tropical and subtropical gyres is generally limited by nutrient supply, while light often limits phytoplankton growth in subarctic gyres. Environmental variability at multiple scales influences the nutrient and light available for phytoplankton, and as these organisms form the base of the marine food web, this variability in phytoplankton growth influences higher trophic levels. For example, at interannual scales phytoplankton levels temporarily plummet during El Niño periods, influencing populations of zooplankton, fishes, sea birds, and marine mammals.

The effects of anthropogenic warming on the global population of phytoplankton is an area of active research. Changes in the vertical stratification of the water column, the rate of temperature-dependent biological reactions, and the atmospheric supply of nutrients are expected to have important impacts on future phytoplankton productivity.[15] Additionally, changes in the mortality of phytoplankton due to rates of zooplankton grazing may be significant.

Freshly hatched fish larvae are also plankton for a few days as long as they cannot swim against currents.

An amphipod photo of exoskeletoned animal with curved body, with two long and two short antennae.

A copepod (Calanoida sp.) from Antarctica ca. 12 mm long, photo of translucent ovoid animal with two long antennae

Microzooplankton, the major grazers of the plankton: Dinoflagellates (spindle-shaped 'Gyrodinium', spiny-globe 'Protoperidinium') and a tintinnid ciliate (hairy-topped cell in a shell, 'Favella'). From the Thau Lagoon of Sète, France

Importance to fish

Zooplankton are the initial prey item for almost all fish larvae as they switch from their yolk sacs to external feeding. Fish rely on the density and distribution of zooplankton to match that of new larvae, which can otherwise starve. Natural factors (e.g., current variations) and man-made factors (e.g. river dams) can strongly affect zooplankton, which can in turn strongly affect larval survival, and therefore breeding success.

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